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ME AND UNCLE ROMIE

Name: ME AND UNCLE ROMIE
Author: Claire Hartfield
ISBN: 0-8037-2520-5

A STORY INSPIRED BY THE ART AND LIFE OF ROMARE BEARDEN

by Claire Hartfield & illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2002

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This tribute to collage artist Romare Bearden is movingly executed in a fictionalized story of young James, who visits his aunt and uncle in New York while his parents adjust to the arrival of twins. James is a little nervous; Uncle Romie and Aunt Nanette don’t have any kids, and a picture of Uncle Romie makes him look a little scary. Who will bake him a lemon cake and take him to the baseball game on his birthday? Aunt Nanette turns out to be warmhearted and welcoming, but Uncle Romie, busy with his art, seems a little distant. When the big day arrives, Uncle Romie turns out to be more fun that James anticipated. When James enters the art studio for the first time, he recognizes Harlem in Romie’s collage paintings that he’d previously dismissed as “kinda easy” to make, and he sees one that reminds him of North Carolina, where Uncle Romie also grew up. Uncle and nephew bond a little over shared memories of home, and then Uncle Romie surprises James with tickets to the ballgame. Aunt Nanette is back in time for cake, and by the time James goes home, his horizons have expanded not only in terms of his family, but in his appreciation for other places and for the power of art. So many things at home now remind him of Uncle Romie that he makes a collage birthday card for him featuring train schedules, tiger lilies, a subway token and subway map, and his own painting. Lagarrigue’s (Freedom Summer, 2001, etc.) collage artwork, like Bearden’s, possesses a real feel for the Harlem setting without actually being realistic. He conveys the essence of the place through bits of paper, darkly colored paint, and impressionistically blurry portrayals of people and scenes. A guide at the back to help young artists create their own collages enhances this fitting introduction to an American artist. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2002

ISBN: 0-8037-2520-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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BERRY MAGIC

by Teri Sloat & Betty Huffman & illustrated by Teri Sloat ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004

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Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-88240-575-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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ZIP! ZOOM! ON A BROOM
by Teri Sloat ; illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet

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PABLO IN THE SNOW
by Teri Sloat ; illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet

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THERE WAS AN OLD MAN WHO PAINTED THE SKY
by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Stefano Vitale

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RAPUNZEL

adapted by Rachel Isadora & illustrated by Rachel Isadora ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2008

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)